Part Two: La Paz, Bolivia

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Day Four

Picked up my $100 lost baggage allowance at the airport, and read up on my next destination on the five-hour flight from Santiago to
La Paz. Bolivia is called the Tibet of the Americas. It’s the highest, the most isolated and most rugged country in the hemisphere. It’s also the most indigenous country in South America. Bolivia is landlocked and lies astride the widest stretch of the Andes, and runs the gamut from snow-dusted peaks and salt flats to steamy grasslands and jungles.

En route to La Paz we crossed the stark and strangely beautiful desert coastline and landed at Iquique airport. Iquique is a major destination for Chilean travelers because of its year-round beach weather and its being the country's biggest duty-free shopping centre.

The next quick stop was at Arica, known as "The City of Eternal Spring," Arica is located at the northern tip of Chile on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It is blessed with a mild, dry climate and waters warm enough for swimming, making it a popular, year-round beach resort. Among adventure travelers, the city is best known as the starting point for excursions into the Atacama Desert.

But there would be no swimming or desert adventures today at Arica, at least not for the passengers of flight Lan 960. After staying aboard for 30 minutes, we were off again to our real destination, La Paz.

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